CD Projekt Red returned to Epic Games’ annual State of Unreal showcase with a spellbinding tech demo for The Witcher 4, revealing the series’ next chapter will send players north to the mineral-rich kingdom of Kovir—and may finally pit them against a legendary manticore long teased yet never fought in previous games.
Yesterday’s Epic Games “State of Unreal 2025” stream opened with a cinematic carriage ride gone very wrong: a winged predator slams into the travelers’ wagon, scattering crates and passengers before vanishing into the treetops. Moments later the footage cuts to Ciri calmly trading barbs with a merchant in a bustling town square. Her verdict on the attack is short and chilling: “The manticore that flattened your carts and devoured your men—that concerns me.”
For veteran Witcher players that single sentence lands like a thunderclap. Manticores have stalked Sapkowski’s books and even lent their name to an armor set in The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, yet they never appeared as an in-game encounter. Their surprise debut here strongly suggests we will finally get to hunt the legendary beasts when The Witcher 4 arrives.
Geralt of Rivia remains synonymous with the franchise, but the demo’s framing—and Ciri’s central role in the dialogue—makes a persuasive case that she is now the playable lead. CD Projekt Red isn’t confirming protagonists yet, yet every scene revolves around her: she inspects destroyed wagons, chats with townsfolk, and prepares to track the manticore. A later fly-through, narrated by game director Sebastian Kalemba, even shows rapid streaming as the camera “catches up with Ciri” galloping across farmland. If this is a hint rather than a sleight-of-hand, The Witcher 4 could be the first mainline entry to let players guide the Lady of Time and Space from the opening quest.
The demo’s second headline is the setting itself. For the first time in series history, players will explore Kovir and Poviss, the Northern Kingdom known for its staggering mineral wealth and strict neutrality. Lore fragments in The Witcher 2 and Wild Hunt describe Kovir as a land of treacherous peaks, glittering mines, and twin capitals—Lan Exeter and Port Vanis—but players have never walked its streets. That changes here: the video showcases narrow stone alleys crammed with merchants, highland valleys dotted with windmills, and sun-drenched coastline markets.
Kalemba calls it “the most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game ever,” a boast backed by Epic’s new animation framework. The demo renders 300 fully animated NPCs—each tracking daily routines—while holding a locked 60 FPS on what CDPR insists is “a standard PlayStation 5.” Real-time ray-traced lighting, dynamic foliage, and muscle-simulated horses gallop past without a hitch, suggesting widespread optimization across platforms.
Key tech takeaways from the showcase:
Nanite & Lumen duo – Dense, photoreal geometry and global lighting with no pop-in as the camera races after Ciri.
New crowd & animation system – Over 300 skeletal agents on-screen with headroom left for AI, combat, and quest logic.
Faster world streaming – Seamless transitions between wilderness, towns, and dungeons; no more long horse rides masking loading.
60 FPS target on consoles – CDPR’s “no-compromise” goal: next-gen visuals without sacrificing responsiveness.
CD Projekt Red stopped short of a release window, stressing the footage was “in-engine” rather than a final slice of gameplay. Questions remain about Geralt’s involvement, the scale of Kovir compared with Novigrad or Toussaint, and how roguelike vertical slices of Ciri’s Elder Blood powers could evolve traversal and combat.
Yet the studio has set expectations: legendary monsters cut from earlier games are back on the menu, a long-rumored kingdom is finally explorable, and Unreal Engine 5 is giving the devs enough headroom to chase 60 FPS without trimming ambition. If yesterday’s glimpse is any indication, The Witcher 4 is poised to push both tech and lore farther than any Witcher adventure to date—manticores and all.
Stay tuned: CDPR promises more concrete details “later this year,” when the studio is expected to unveil full gameplay and clarify exactly when we’ll step onto Kovir’s gilded docks.
CD Projekt Red remains silent on release timing, but the studio’s focus is clear: deliver a seamless, visually stunning Witcher experience across all platforms without sacrificing performance. With Kovir’s gilded cities to explore and manticores finally on the hunt list, The Witcher 4 is shaping up to be both a lore deep dive and a technical showpiece.
Until the next reveal, monster hunters can sharpen their silver blades—this northern adventure looks ready to strike.
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